Even ten years ago, it was a lonely experience to be an NBA fan in India. The biggest basketball league in the world might as well have been on an other planet with so few live games and so little information available.

Since the NBA established an office in India in 2011 and started putting developmental programs into place to advance the sport, that has been changing. The Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant spent three days in the city last week as part of the league’s most recent outreach initiative.

“Having someone like Kevin Durant visit us is fantastic. Preshit Pawar, a participant in the NBA Academy in the New Delhi suburb of Greater Noida, where all 21 of India’s top teenage basketball talents have been practicing since the facility opened in May, said, “It means that we matter enough that the NBA is sending its best player to India.”

Following an NBA fan and Bollywood actor Abhishek Bacchan’s welcome party, Durant got down to business promoting basketball. He practiced with the NBA Academy players and then led exercises for thousands of children in an event that broke records. He visited one of India’s top tourist destinations to round out his journey.